Nissan in Sunderland

Peter Kyle Excerpts

Monday 4th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I cannot speak for the right hon. Gentleman’s Front Benchers, but he has heard me say that it is incumbent on the whole House to keep the national interest in mind and to reflect our traditions of doing that. I recently looked at the speech that Margaret Thatcher gave when she opened the Nissan plant in Sunderland. She commented that Nissan had chosen the UK because

“within the whole of Europe, the United Kingdom was the most attractive country—politically and economically—for large scale investment and offered the greatest potential.”

That political stability, confidence and pragmatism, which was so important then, is important now, and we should return to it.

[Peter Kyle (Hove) (Lab)]

In his speech in the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill debate, the right hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Sir Michael Fallon), who has just left his place, said that the political declaration was “vacuous”, so I gently point out to the Secretary of State that opposition to his Government’s withdrawal arrangements is not confined to the Opposition Benches. When a country like Japan is looking to invest, and when companies such as Nissan export up to 80% of their products into the single market, will he just acknowledge that being within the single market provides an advantage over the countries that are outside it?

[Greg Clark]

Of course, it depends on the terms of trade that are negotiated. Clearly, being a member of the European Union unquestionably allowed Nissan and others to trade without thinking about tariffs or impediments. We need to secure a deal that allows us to continue to offer Britain as a place of innovation and skills, and a place that can be confident in exporting to the rest of Europe.